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July 3, 2018

Make in India to go to Russia? Government to take call on Rs 2,400-crore submarine plan

The defence ministry is shortly expected to take a call on whether a Rs
2,400-crore project to extend the service life of its primary
conventional submarines would be done under the Make-in-India initiative
or would go to a Russian shipyard where the boats were originally
manufactured.

The complicated process – which will extend the
life of the Kilo class submarines by 10 years – can bring a significant
amount of technology and skill to India but the Navy has been concerned
that it could lead to delays. Something that it is vary of, given the
declining strength of its underwater fleet.

At stake is the
medium refit and life extension of two Kilo class submarines, starting
with the INS Sindhuratna that is already dry docked and ready to be
shipped. As per original plans that were cleared in 2016, a total of
four Kilo class submarines were to be given the life extension.

While
two of these were to be sent to Russia, the remaining two were to be
upgraded at an Indian yard, according to a decision taken by the Defence
Acquisition Committee (DAC). It is this contract for two submarines,
valued at over `2,400 cr, which has become a bone of contention. Two
Indian yards were in the fray for the project – L&T and the
Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL)). While the private yard did not submit
bids, HSL has emerged as the sole contender and is confident it can
undertake the project.

“We have the capability of undertaking
this project in India. We have been carrying out regular refits for Kilo
class submarine at the yard and this would require much more work but
we are confident that it can be done on time,” Rear Admiral LV Sarat
Babu, CMD, HSL told ET.

At the back of the Navy’s mind is
history with HSL – the yard took nine years to refit one its submarines,
the INS Sindhukirti, as it went through financial difficulties in the
past. HSL, however, believes that these problems have now been resolved
with the yard having undergone a turnaround.
One hurdle that will be faced with upgrading the submarines in India is
whether the Russian manufacturer would give the crucial life extension
certification. This can only be done by the original manufacturer of the
submarine.